'Successful' trading at Town & City Pub Company

Town & City Pub Company, which operates the Yates's chain, reported a "very successful" first 11 trading months, qualified by exceptional administrative costs of £13.5m.

The company, which arose from the ashes of Laurel Pub Company in March 2008, saw a turnover of £90.5m in the 11 months to 22 February this year. Gross profit was £10.2m and it had an operating profit of £1.9m, but lost a total of £9.7m when its interest bill of £5.5m was included.

The company's accounts reveal that the group received a loan of £67.5m in March 2008 from Kaupthing and Commerzbank, with repayment due in July 2010.

In July this year the terms were renegotiated and its loans extended to January 2012. As part of the renegotiation, an amount of £5.8m in accrued interest debt was swapped for equity in the company by Kaupthing and Commerzbank.

The accounts indicate that £53m was paid to the administrator of Laurel Pub Company for 134 bars run by Town & City in March 2008.

During the 11 months, Town & City sold three sites for a total of £1.028m, producing a profit of £554,000. The company also bought some sites from sister companies La Tasca and Slug & Lettuce for a total of £5m.

The parent of Town & City is a Cayman Island company called Plato Company Three. It is controlled by director Ian Payne and Chris Keen, representing a trust comprising of senior management and Commerzbank.